I just saw Godzilla and I have a question about it

[jmowreader]

It is a very good movie. Go see it. And if you can, see it in IMAX 3D.

The performances by the humans are kinda formulaic and forgettable - which is probably why the whole cast contains one actor you've ever heard of before, the great Ken Watanabe - but let's get down to basics: no one in their right mind goes to a fucking Godzilla movie to watch high art or heartfelt drama by human actors, they go to watch Godzilla kill huge, evil Japanese monsters. By that standard, this movie is a runaway success. (And in case you're wondering: no, they didn't put the Blue Oyster Cult song anywhere in the film.)

The question: how soon will it be before either Rush Limbaugh or someone on Fox "News" complains about the evil liberals in Hollywood shoving huge amounts of anti-nuclear propaganda into Godzilla, not realizing that anti-nuclear propaganda is and always was the sole reason Godzilla exists?

[Katashi_itto]

1. Actually Godzilla was not meant as a "antinuclear" statement starting out (1954) Ver. It was more a

Last edited Sun May 18, 2014, 03:07 AM - Edit history (1)

sort of traumatized response as the Nuclear threat made manifest. Only in later movies did it take on a verbalized "antinuclear" bent. Think of it in the beginning as more an "elemental" force.

[brettdale]

14. sorry for going off topic

But did they show the new trailer from interstellar and what was it like.

[The Traveler]

15. Haven't seen Godzilla yet

But the trailer is out ... and I hear they did show this (see link). I liked it, very much. It's posted on IO9 ...


IO9 Holy Crap, Trailer for Christopher Nolan's Interstellar is Thrilling

"Mankind was born on earth. It was not meant to die here."

[yeoman6987]

32. The only actor I know in the movie

was Brian Cranston.

[JackRiddler]

61. Didn't you see Inception?

Then you know Ken Watanabe.

[yeoman6987]

64. No I didn't see that one

I was going to many times over and never made it.

[catbyte]

65. Watanabe was really good in "Memoirs of a Geisha." Understated, powerful

[JackRiddler]

52. Have you seen Gojira (1954)?

The real Japanese movie, minus the cuts and additions (Raymond Burr) in the U.S. version, clearly expresses Japanese trauma over the destruction suffered in the war.

[SummerSnow]

57. Ironside defeats Godzilla.

They had the Godzilla marathon on today. Kinda cool.

[JackRiddler]

60. No, he doesn't. That's not Gojira.

The original Japanese film was all Japanese. The U.S. distributors cut a bunch of scenes and added in Raymond Burr (Ironsides). That's what we grew up with on TV in the U.S., but nothing to do with the real, authentic Gojira. You need to order that on DVD, it is available. Completely different and much better.

[Katashi_itto]

68. Thats what I was talking about

[MADem]

2. I think Godzilla might be a little bit too "high brow" for Rush...he might not even make the

connection!

But I do have a question for you!

I read or heard somewhere that some Japanese critics were complaining that Godzilla was "too fat" and they preferred a leaner and meaner Godzilla. I saw a quick clip of the film with a very fast view of The Big G and he did look a bit pudgy to me.

So...is Godzilla a) Fatter? and b) TOO fat?

Inquiring minds want to know!!

[jmowreader]

6. He's fatter, but I don't think he's "too fat"

This iteration of Godzilla is the largest one ever put to film, and the monsters he fights are even bigger than he is, so the extra weight comes in handy.

[MADem]

27. Ah, not fat, FIT!! There's muscle up under there!

Gotta love it!

[Blue_Adept]

34. Godzilla Size Chart

http://www.fandompost.com/2014/02/28/new-godzilla-on-set-images-creature-height-chart-revealed/

[Hassin Bin Sober]

9. He did have cankles.

But I enjoyed the movie.

[MADem]

28. But did he have dimpled knees? nt

[JHB]

19. I'd put it this way: his head is proportionately a bit smaller...

...compared to the rest of him than in the old rubber suit designs.

But really, he's always had thunder-thighs, hasn't he? The suits never exactly went for a "lean and muscular" look.

More to the point, if I hadn't seen one of the movie-based toys in a store I might not have noticed even that. The movie had too many of my personal "Godzilla done right" points for something like that to even register.

So my answer to "does this CGI make my butt look fat?" question is "no".

[MADem]

29. Ha ha ha--haven't heard "thunder thighs" in years!

They used to be a negative, now thunder thighs and a large posterior are all the rage!

The only reason I even mention his chunkiness is because I heard it from some source that averred the Japanese were complaining about Godzilla's weight gain!

Here's my take--we all put on a few pounds as we age...it's the rare person that stays at fighting weight down the decades! Why should large creatures who terrorize major cities be any different?

[awoke_in_2003]

48. Big leg woman ain't got no soul...

Or so Led Zeppelin told me.

[davidpdx]

23. I heard that too

The only reasonable explanation is that he's been eating at McDonald's too much.

[Johonny]

50. I can see Rush playing the Smog monster in a remake

[Maedhros]

3. I'm pretty sure I've heard of Bryan Cranston as well... [n/t]

[randome]

22. I know someone who's going to see the movie only because of Cranston.

Since Breaking Bad, his name will draw in the big bucks. Cranston knows it, too, but it doesn't appear to have gone to his head.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[pinboy3niner]

4. You got one thing right

"no one in their right mind goes to a fucking Godzilla movie..."

[randome]

21. I'd pay good money to see Godzilla fucking something. (No, I wouldn't.)

[hr][font color="blue"][center]Don't ever underestimate the long-term effects of a good night's sleep.[/center][/font][hr]

[jberryhill]

37. There is a really good kinda live action hentai parody Godzilla

The trailer is... um... interesting... (and safe for work)

[randome]

44. I should have known something like that would be out there, already.

Nothing is beyond mockery, is it? And that's probably how it should be.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers, it's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]

[Journeyman]

5. Not the sole reason. The antinuclear message was clearly a major intent of the original movie. . .

but equally important -- at least to the original Japanese audience -- was to provide a scenario where the Japanese people were the saviors of the world. This was important to the postwar Japanese people, that they be given a world-leading role, even if it was in a cheesy monster flick.

By somewhat the same token, the American film distributors insisted that an American -- Raymond Burr -- be inserted into the film post production before they would release it in the States. There had to be a "hook" for the American viewer, and a means to somewhat mitigate the Japan-resurgent image of the film.

[CTyankee]

55. that is interesting. The Japanese saw themselves as saviors of the world...

something I had not heard,nor contemplated. After the catastrophe of Hiroshima and Nagasaki I can understand their wanting to vindicate themselves somehow. Even, I guess, at the destruction of other countries such as the U.S, as well as their own. Their destruction must have been monumentally horrifying to them...

[Scootaloo]

7. Answer to your question: who gives a fuck?

Seriously, the only reason dittoheads listen to Rush is that they're too dumb to remember how to change the radio station, so really who cares?

[jmowreader]

10. A fuck must be given

This is not the first Godzilla movie that features an anti-nuclear message but those assholes will think it is - remember, these are the same people who freaked out when Noah got shitfaced on wine in that stupid-ass movie even though it's in the Bible.

[Scootaloo]

18. These people are irrelevant goobers

Seriously the only reason we even know what's going on in their heads is because the corporate media keeps trying to sodent us up to their "message" by pretending that there's spme sort of center where we need to meet them halfway, thus rendering their stupid bullshit somehow "important."

Used to be, you wouldn't ind out these people existed until you found a pile of chick tracts in a public restroom or something.

[jberryhill]

38. And not just the Bible tracts either!

You did nail it. These people did not used to be taken seriously in American politics.

[msanthrope]

8. Only Philistines don't know who Ken Wantanabe is. My daughter and I are seeing

Godzilla this weekend. Screw the message....we want to see shit blow up.

[jmowreader]

12. Definitely see it in 3-D

One would think, "3-D Godzilla movie? Huge pieces of debris will fly into the audience." Not at all. They used it to extend the depth of field in the frame - a very natural effect. It's a bit like Baz Luhrmann did with Gatsby but Gatsby was painfully lacking in huge Japanese monsters.

[msanthrope]

13. His Gatsby would have been shitloads better with huge Japanese monsters.

Definitely gonna see it in 3D.

[jberryhill]

39. Which one?

Godzilla alone, or Gatsby with huge Japanese monsters?

I'm holding out for Citizen Kane with huge Japanese monsters!

[jmowreader]

43. Any monsters would improve Gatsby

That goes for any film adaptation of The Great Gatsby because there's no way to make a good movie out of this book.

[jberryhill]

47. Except Zombies

It already has enough zombies.

[awoke_in_2003]

49. After being run over by Daisy...

Myrtle Wilson comes back to life and eats Tom's brain.

[randome]

20. Thanks for that.

I've seen conflicting views on the 3D Godzilla but yours is the pro opinion I've seen before so that clinches it. We're going 3D!
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

[MADem]

30. Gatsby was in 3D?

I saw it at home on a good sized tv, but no special effects.

That explains the interminably pointless musical numbers and all the sweeping camera shots that looked like time-wasters in "regular D."

[jmowreader]

45. Yeah, believe it or not...

Luhrmann saw Hitchcock's "Dial M for Murder" in 3d (which it was actually shot in) and decided 3d was just the thing for shooting overly pretentious crap like The Great Gatsby.

[MADem]

46. I have to confess, I've never seen a 3D film. I have crappy vision (fairly well corrected)

and I think it probably plays better on young eyes.

I did see some 3D special effects at a theme park a long time ago--cannot remember if it was Disney or Universal. It seemed kind of amusing in small doses. I don't think it would help me appreciate a film unless it was an "action" one.

Then again, I can't really know unless I give it a try at some point.

I'm just cheap as hell--getting me to part with the price of a ticket is a challenge!

[EX500rider]

33. Ken Wantanabe was SO good in "Last Samurai" AND "Letters from Iwo Jima" n/t

[edbermac]

11. I'll pass, you can't beat the original Godzilla movies.

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It's fun watching some guy in a rubber suit tearing up cardboard buildings and stomping on matchbox cars. And some little Japanese kid explaining to all the adults that Godzilla is really misunderstood.

[Rozlee]

16. I'm with you.

I'm a purist. Nothing beats the original Godzilla for its campiness and cringe-worthy special effects. And Godzilla was misunderstood!

[davidpdx]

24. I remember watching the old Godzilla movies on TV growing up

There's nothing like an giant angry fire-breathing lizard with a huge tail squashing things.

[randome]

26. It's cathartic, isn't it? What every adolescent needs.

To see the strangeness of the world knocked to pieces.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]

[SummerSnow]

58. He was just taking his daily walk to work off those thighs thats all.

[Fla_Democrat]

70. I do the 'speed' version

I ain't got time for a full movie, so just watch the One Crazy Summer clip........

[tofuandbeer]

17. I'm sure with the horribly record breaking temperatures we've had in California this week...

Godzilla 2014 is bringing in the bills from California.
Actually, I'd really like to see it—now that I saw the clip that The_Traveler posted above.

[davidpdx]

25. I'm tempted to go see it

Not sure when it will be here in Korea. Thankfully Godzilla himself will be staying in Japan.

[jberryhill]

41. How about Godzilla v Kim Jong Un?

[davidpdx]

42. Sounds good to me

Kim Jong Un would be an afternoon snack for Godzilla.

[Bluenorthwest]

31. Film has Bryan Cranston, one of the most popular actors working today. Also Juillete Binoche

who won an Oscar for The English Patient and was nominated for the brilliant Chocolat. David Strathairn who was nominated for an Oscar for playing Edward R Murrow.....
You are a tough room.

[Blue_Adept]

35. And while not hugely known...

Both aaron taylor-johnson and elizabeth olsen are getting up there a bit - especially since both will be a lot more well known next year when they work together in Avengers 2.

[Jazzgirl]

36. I bought a ticket last night for the IMAX 3-D movie

for this Tuesday. Can't wait to see it. Strictly for entertainment and effects.

[Kaleva]

40. It'd be a nice change of pace if Godzilla actually won in this movie.

[arcane1]

51. Perhaps the San Francisco destruction will cancel out the anti-nukular stuff.

[WinkyDink]

53. You lost me at "I just saw Godzilla...."

[jmowreader]

67. Oh come on. This was a top-of-the-line Godzilla movie.

No Matchbox cars or cardboard buildings were used in the making of this film.

[RiffRandell]

54. We saw it in IMAX 3D too; I liked it. Link has SPOILERS!

Here's a link my husband showed me: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/17/1299874/-Saturday-nutpick-a-palooza-Giant-movie-lizard-edition

[SummerSnow]

56. I see your point. But they might say Godzilla, who is "foreign"

is really Obama destroying us all.Big scary unstoppable Obama.

[Brigid]

59. Did Godzilla snack on little Fiat cars like in the TV commercial?

[jmowreader]

66. He mostly snacked on other huge radioactive monsters

He probably stepped on a bunch of little Fiat cars, but very few people would have noticed.

[RandySF]

62. Godzilla (1954) was actually a reaction to an event that occurred after WWII

Godzilla was made right after some Japanese fishermen were caught out in the middle of a nuclear weapons test over the Pacific. The outrage was still fresh when then movie was released.

[calimary]

63. Did it spit out the Fiat? (Or whatever little car that was?)

[randome]

69. Three actors from the Canadian sci-fi series, Continuum, are in the movie.

All had small parts.

* The actor who plays Captain Dillon was in the monitoring facility during the second nuke crisis.

* The actor who plays Nora Harris was at the military command center.

* The actor who played the part of a sperm bank operator from the third episode had a very small part, sitting at one of the consoles during the original nuke crisis.

The actor who plays Travis in Continuum was in last week's episode of Orphan Black. I'm not terribly crazy about that series but one of my daughters is so it's become part of the family repertoire.

The Godzilla movie was great! Different from the original concept but definitely a step in the right direction. And I thought Cranston's character brought the right amount of pathos to the role.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]A ton of bricks, a ton of feathers, it's still gonna hurt.[/center][/font][hr]